Hurricanes assistant coach John Plumtree has a place in his heart for the Sharks as the two best teams yet to win a Super Rugby title get set to square off.The top-qualifying Hurricanes host the eighth-seeded Sharks in a quarter-final on Saturday, with one team set to extend a lengthy run of dead-end appearances in the knockout phase.Nobody has a more frustrating record than the Durban-based visitors, who have qualified for the play-offs nine times but never won a title.Their record includes four losses in the final.The Hurricanes arent much better, with seven failed play-off visits, which includes last years loss to the Highlanders on home soil in the decider.That result continued a soul-destroying record for Plumtree, whose five seasons in charge at the Sharks featured three post-season appearances.It ended with a final loss to the Chiefs in 2012, having been forced into an exhausting campaign which featured wins in Brisbane and Cape Town followed by defeat in Hamilton.It is that very series which has Plumtree on edge, along with a worrying Sharks history of success on New Zealand soil.This teams not scared of travelling. Theyve got a lot of massive characters in that team and they know how to win in New Zealand, Plumtree said.Them coming to us, it wont be a problem for them.Plumtree says he feels all the pain of Sharks supporters over their poor play-off record and suggests they are stinging at least as much as the Hurricanes - the only Kiwi team still to claim the title.The Sharks dominated up front in a 32-15 win when the teams met in Durban in May, with the Hurricanes sub-standard efforts that day forming a big part of their buildup.We pretty much got man-handled. They slowed down our ball and we cant afford that type of thing to happen, he said.BEST OF THE 10 TITLE-LESS SUPER RUGBY TEAMS9 play-off appearances - Sharks (4 times in final)7 - Hurricanes (2)6 - Stormers (1)2 - Lions (0)1 - Cheetahs (0)0 - Force, Rebels, Kings, Jaguares, Sunwolves. Authentic Nike NFL Jerseys Outlet . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. http://www.cheapchinajerseysnfls.com/ . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. WASHINGTON -- The Kansas City Royals are going to have to work on their nicknames as far as President Barack Obama is concerned. Everything else was looking pretty good though as he honored the 2015 World Series champions at the White House on Thursday, describing them as one of the grittiest, most complete teams weve seen in a long time.The Royals last visited the White House in 1985 when President Ronald Reagan saluted their never-say-die spirit in the Rose Garden. The 2015 team showed the same quality. Six outs away from playoff elimination, the Royals scored seven runs to defeat the Houston Astros. They went on to win that series and to beat the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets. Obama noted that the Royals held the record for comeback wins in the playoffs.Obama also acknowledged that it had been a long time between visits to the White House for Kansas City. Lets face it, its been a long road for Royals fans, Obama said. There were some dark years, some tough decades.But Obama said that began to change when General Manager Dayton Moore was hired and the Royals started to develop talented players through their minor league system. Among them: outfielder Alex Gordon, infielders Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, and catcher Salvador Perez.Obama called each of the players by their nicknames, Gordo, `Moose, `Hos and Salvy. But the presiident didnt seem to find those too creative.ddddddddddddWere going to have to work on these, Obama said.When the president calls you out, you definitely got to start thinking about something, Hosmer said after the ceremony. Weve got some guys in the locker room, Im sure theyre starting to bear down on that.However, Obama admitted to liking outfielder Jarrod Dysons description of one of the teams top weapons: Thats what speed do.Thats a good quote, Obama said.Obama noted that his spokesman, Josh Earnest, was a big Royals fan, and that the Royals visit Thursday was right up there as far as best days ever. Manager Ned Yost, Hosmer and Perez interrupted the days press briefing to present the Kansas City, Missouri native with a team jersey, an upgraded mug and an autographed World Series baseball. Yost said the team didnt want Earnest to get into trouble by him trying to hijack the presidents jersey.The team gave Obama a Royals jersey with the number 44 in gold lettering, which nicely matched the ornate drapes in the White House East Room.---On Twitter, reach Kevin Freking at https://twitter.com/APkfreking---This story has been corrected to note that Obama called the Royals one of the grittiest teams in a long time. ' ' '